A Sign of our Times

Colorado’s oldest newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, will publish it’s last edition tomorrow. It’s a sad passage that is being mirrored in cities all over the country as people increasingly turn to TV, the Web or their mobile phone for news. I must admit, I don’t read newspapers.

Who has time to read through a whole newspaper? And they leave your hands so dirty. And then you have to dispose of them, either by filling the landfills or letting them pile up for recycling. So why do I care? Because the Rocky has been around since 1859 and I hate to see it go. And because I was a print Journalism major in college and I worked as a daily newspaper reporter as my first “real” job. It turns out it wasn’t for me, but I have the highest regard for the Press. Our free press provides the checks and balances that our society sadly needs. Newspapers have the time to devote to digging out a story that a short news broadcast just can’t match. In a ideal world, every city would still have competing newspapers with different points of view, but that hasn’t been the case for a decade or more now.

I hope that the displaced staff will find new jobs that use their valuable talents and skills, even though it won’t be the same. Newspaper reporters certainly don’t go into it for the money and it will be a sad day in the newsroom tomorrow. And it will be a sad day for all of those used to reading the Rocky with their morning coffee when it’s no longer there.

St. Patrick’s Day is coming!

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Multiple shapes and styles of green glass beads, including shamrock-stamped ovals, make up this eye-catching bracelet. It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day! Available now in my etsy store for just $12.00.

I’m in a Treasury!

Check out this great Treasury of NATURAL items on Etsy by theBeadAerie. I’m happy to have my Agate Trio Necklace included (third row center)!

I haven’t been included in many treasuries so this gives me those good warm fuzzies! It’s funny, the piece just above mine looks very similar to the necklace I featured in yesterday’s post. I certainly do favor natural materials and colors over the “bling” of crystals. Earthtones are so gorgeous, and I don’t mean just brown. I mean red, yellow, orange and all shades of green. The agate nuggets in my featured necklace are complimented by wooden beads for a really natural look. It would look great over any “earthtone” t-shirt. That said, my FAVORITE item in this Treasury is the serving bowl by elmstudios in the bottom left corner - GORGEOUS!!

Jasper Pendant Just Listed

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The newest item in my etsy store is this wire-wrapped Paintbrush Jasper donut on a brown suede cord. The flat donut is 50mm across (about two inches).

This necklace is 23 inches long. Click on the photo to see more, and thanks for looking!

I got a package today!

I love coming home and seeing a package waiting for me! Today it was a box from Fire Mountain Gems and inside was my new jewelry display bust! She’s 19” high and has a pierced ear so people can finally see how my earrings will look on an (almost) actual ear. She’s so sculptural and elegant I won’t mind leaving her out 24/7. I should probably give her a name so let me know if you have any suggestions!

Now the big question, do I RETAKE all the photos in my etsy store using the new bust? I can tell you the answer is “No” for now. Think 90 items times an average of four photos each… I don’t have the time or energy! I do hope to give my store a more consistent look over the next year as I combine this display with just one or two backgrounds. If I decide to retake photos at some point, I’ll hold an “Inventory Reduction Sale” first or have a Trunk Sale for my coworkers.

Now what to name her? Maybe something French…

"Dear Job" Letter

Dear Day Job,
We’ve been together for a few years now and I have to tell you, I’m not sure where this is going. In the beginning, everything was exciting and new. I would even dream about you when we weren’t together. I fantasized about where the relationship might be going and how soon we could take it to the next level. I enjoyed proving my worth and my loyalty to you in all the small ways that count. But at some point things just became… comfortable. The challenge was gone. The excitement was gone. And the rewards? They never came. Oh sure, we tried out a few different positions (remember that business trip to Orlando?), but it wasn’t enough to keep the fun alive. Some days I feel like I’m just “showing up” and my heart isn’t in it anymore. I don’t know how long I can go on feeling like I’m taken for granted. So I wanted to let you know in writing that things have changed. The truth is, Day Job, I’m just not that into you.


Signed,
Desk Dreamer

Editing Photos for Etsy

Here’s part two of my photography workflow – post processing. As I said in my last post, you must edit every single image you plan to use online. I use Adobe Photoshop but there are tons of less advanced programs out there that make adjustments pretty simple.

Almost every photo needs a few basic tweeks. Of course, the better image you capture, the less work you’ll need to do in the computer.

First, most photos will need to be cropped. Remember that Etsy crops your main photo to a square for the previews. Either crop your original photo to a square, or make sure the focal point of your image will still be visible in square format (see below).

Of course sometimes the Etsy crop actually creates a more artistic look by only showing part of the image. Just make sure you’re aware of it! This rule only applies to the first image in your set. I usually choose a close-up for my first image because the search thumbnail is so small. Make them want to see more!

After cropping I adjust the levels (brightness/contrast) and resize and sharpen the image for web display. I may also use the clone stamp to get rid of tiny spots or cat hair showing up. These basic tools should get you started.

Resizing Notes: I start with large images (raw format) so resizing is always my last step. My Image Size box has two fields that I change. The first is pixels per inch (Resolution). The standard screen resolution used to be 72 ppi, but Windows now uses 96 ppi so I’d go ahead and use 96. Anything higher than 96 is overkill for images on the web.

The second field is width (let the height take care of itself). Etsy recommends 1000 pixels wide, but they will display only 430 pixels wide in your listing. If someone clicks on your image, the larger version will pop up. I never save my images at 1000 wide. I generally go for 600-800 pixels wide because I want my images to load faster. Just keep it above the 430 pixel minimum. Again, Height will take care of itself. After resizing I sharpen the image using unsharp mask.

If I have to reduce an image by more than 50% I will do it in two stages. I’ll reduce it by half, sharpen it, then reduce to my final size and sharpen it again. That’s what works for me, anyway, to maintain quality.

Finally, I save my image as a JPEG (.jpg). I’ll choose the highest quality setting that will produce a small enough file size for the web (under 100K). My SAVE dialog box shows me the file size as I move the quality slider. This is why I don’t use 1000 pixel wide images. I prefer quality over size! Do not keep resaving a jpg image over and over. It’s a compressed format and you’ll lose quality.

Filenames: I suggest you “Save As” another filename so your original remains intact. I use a simple naming format that starts with a letter (B for bracelet, N for necklace) followed by a number and then a letter. For example, if I use three photos for my first necklace the files are N001a.jpg, N001b.jpg and N001c.jpg.

That’s all for today! I hope this has been helpful to some of you and I thank the rest of you for reading through it! Leave me a comment if you have a question on something and I’ll comment back.